Adagio

1912

Edward Middleton Manigault studied initiallly with Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller but soon begain experimenting with the loose brushwork and bright colors of European modernism. Adagio signals a new direction in his work: a focus on a darker palette, rhythmic forms, and enigmatic female subjects. While the precise meaning of Adagio remains a mystery, its title, a musical term referring to the use of a slow tempo and soft tones, suggests that Manigault was interested in the relationship between art and music, a popular topic at the time. In the late 19th century James McNeill Whistler painted numerous "Harmonies" and "Symphonies," while Manigault's friend Arthur B. Davies had recently completed a well-known canvas titled Crescendo.

Adagio was included in the fabled "Armory Show" of 1913, one of the most important exhibitions of modern art ever organized in this country. The Armory Show introduces the work of leading European artists, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky and Marcel Duchamp, as well as that of their American counterparts, to the American public. The abstract forms and strident colors featured in much of the art on view were considered shocking. It is rre to find works that were included in the Armory Show that have not yet entered museum collections. Adagio remained in the family of the original owner until recently; it was aquired by the Mint in 2010.

Museum Purchase with exchange funds from various donors; lead matching funds generously provided by Welborn and Patricia Alexander and Charlie and Beth Murray; and additional matching support from The Dickson Foundation, James and Marguerite Hardy, Ben and Marianne Jenkins in appreciation of James and Marguerite Hardy, and the Curator's Circle for American Art.2010.66